An online knowledge exchange event for researchers and other participants in sustainability initiatives interested in transdisciplinary methods

8 November 2021
15.00 – 18.00 UTC/GMT

BLOG: The Methods ‘bazaar’ – What did we learn about transdisciplinary methods for sustainability?

Video and reflections from the event, including short talks by researchers with experience of using methods in their own work.

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About the event

What methods can help to ‘open up’ and ‘broaden out’ pathways to sustainability, revealing alternatives to one-track visions of progress and expertise?

This online methods ‘bazaar’ will create a space for early career researchers from diverse countries and contexts to share experiences and learn from case studies of transdisciplinary research in sustainability. Building on contributions from participants we will reflect on ways of using methods, practices, actions, and associated skills in sustainability and transdisciplinary research and practice. In celebrating and sharing experiences, the event aims to foster connections between early career researchers and practitioners involved in sustainability research across different regions of the world.

Sustainability challenges – from Covid-19 to climate change, agri-food futures to urbanisation – require thinking carefully about the relationships between power, knowledge and action. Transdisciplinary methods can offer a way to make new connections between diverse forms of knowledge and action to challenge power. In this event, we’ll come together to exchange examples of transdisciplinary methods and their practical application, and reflect on the challenges we encounter, draw lessons, and think about how these could inform future initiatives that link research and action for sustainability.

This event will be of interest to those who are thinking about or are already using transdisciplinary methods in sustainability initiatives, in particular early career researchers, those in the last year of their PhD studies, and sustainability practitioners who do not identify as researchers, including those engaged in policy development.

This is the last event in the series ‘Challenging Research for Sustainability’, convened by the ESRC STEPS Centre (co-hosted by IDS and SPRU, University of Sussex), ARIN (African Research and Impact Network), and events in Mexico coordinated by the NGO Umbela Transformaciones Sostenibles, co-coordinated by LANCIS-IE-UNAM, and in association with IIMAS-UNAM and the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

To find out more, visit the STEPS Centre’s Methods theme.